The Animal Mind: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Animal Cognition

333 Pages·2020·6.675 MB·English

by  Kristin Andrews

The Animal Mind
The philosophy of animal minds addresses profound questions about the nature of mind and
the relationships between humans and other animals.
In this fully revised and updated introductory text, Kristin Andrews introduces and assesses
the essential topics, problems, and debates as they cut across animal cognition and philosophy
of mind, citing historical and cutting-edge empirical data and case studies throughout.
The second edition includes a new chapter on animal culture. There are also new sections
on the evolution of consciousness and tool use in animals, as well as substantially revised
sections on mental representation, belief, communication, theory of mind, animal ethics, and
moral psychology.
Further features such as chapter summaries, annotated further reading, and a glossary
make The Animal Mind an indispensable introduction to those teaching philosophy of mind,
philosophy of animal minds, or animal cognition. It will also be an excellent resource for those
in fields such as ethology, biology, and psychology.
Kristin Andrews is Professor and York Research Chair in Animal Minds at York University, Canada.
She is editor (with Jacob Beck) of The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds (2017),
and is a co-author of Chimpanzee Rights: The Philosophers’ Brief (2018).
Amy Noseworthy (she/her) is an artist and illustrator in Toronto, Ontario, who draws all manner
of strange and nerdy things in between bouts of chasing two small people around the house. She
studied drawing and printmaking at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and in the fine arts
department at York University, Canada. She has a couple of decades of experience doing graphic
design and commercial illustration, but her true love is to put pen and pencil to paper. She
publishes the webcomic “mamahood” at mamahoodthecomic.tumblr.com. You can see more of
her work at hiredhandstudio.com.
“Essential for anyone interested in the philosophy of animal cognition. Andrews expertly
combines science and philosophy to show how rich, complex, and varied animal minds can be.
She also shows how the study of animal minds can improve our understanding of consciousness,
language, reason, culture, morality, human nature, and more. If you want a new appreciation of
the many animals you share the world with, as well as of yourself, you should read this book.”
- Jeff Sebo, New York University, USA
Praise for the first edition:
“… Andrews explores the philosophy of animal cognition fairly thoroughly and clearly, including
ideas, claims, and counterclaims. … The Animal Mind is not for skimming; it should be read
slowly, a section at a time, digested, and read again. However, the knowledge gained is worth
the time invested. … Summing Up: Recommended.”
- CHOICE
“Andrews does not merely present the major theories and latest research into animal
cognition. She also evaluates the quality of that research and the arguments advanced by
notable philosophers, psychologists, ethologists and biologists. For readers unfamiliar with the
terminology frequently used by specialists in those fields, Andrews includes a clear glossary.
Likewise, the entire book is written in an engaging style, avoiding the mind-numbing tendencies
that introductory textbooks can produce.”
- Philosophy in Review
“Andrews is terrifically knowledgeable about both the philosophy and science of animal minds
and is not above coaxing the rest of us into this notoriously difficult subject with the judicious
use of anecdotes and stories. This is the best introduction to the subject currently available.”
- Dale Jamieson, New York University, USA
“An outstanding, highly readable, and carefully argued introduction to a variety of increasingly
important topics in philosophy. I can think of no better way to get philosophers and cognitive
scientists up to speed on the issues, and I look forward to teaching this book in my own
courses on animal minds.”
- Bryce Huebner, Georgetown University, USA
“This thoughtful and well-informed book is a very useful guide to the philosophical and empirical
literatures on animal minds. It is accessibly written and well-pitched for students.”
- José Luis Bermúdez, Texas A&M University, USA
“The Animal Mind is an ideal text for introductory classes in the growing field of the philosophy
of cognitive ethology. It is also an excellent work of philosophy—one that challenges received
wisdom and speculates about future lines of research. As interest in animals grows among
philosophers and psychologists, this book provides stimulating reading for students and
scholars alike.”
- Edward Minar, University of Arkansas, USA
The Animal Mind
An Introduction to the Philosophy of
Animal Cognition
Second Edition
Kristin Andrews
Second edition published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 Kristin Andrews
The right of Kristin Andrews to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by them in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by
any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used
only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2015
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Andrews, Kristin, 1971– author.
Title: The animal mind: an introduction to the philosophy of animal
cognition / Kristin Andrews.
Description: Second edition. | Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2020. |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2019055759 (print) | LCCN 2019055760 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781138559561 (hbk) | ISBN 9781138559578 (pbk) | ISBN 9780203712511 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Cognition in animals. | Animal behavior. |
Cognition—Philosophy.
Classification: LCC QL785 .A69 2020 (print) | LCC QL785 (ebook) | DDC 591.5/13—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019055759
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019055760
ISBN: 978-1-138-55956-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-55957-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-71251-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Franklin Gothic
by codeMantra
For Alex
.
Taylor & Francis
(
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
Contents
Preface to the second edition ix
Acknowledgments, first edition xi
Introduction 1
1 Other minds 7
2 Understanding animal behavior 29
3 The science of other minds 48
4 Consciousness 73
5 Can animals think? 107
6 Communication 136
7 Social knowledge 172
8 Culture 200
9 Moral minds 230
Glossary 261
Bibliography 267
Index 307
.
Taylor & Francis
(
Taylor & Francis Group
http://taylorandfrancis.com
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The second edition of The Animal Mind is more of a renovation than a restoration. I gutted the
first edition book but kept the bones and added some fancy new bits. When you move into a
house, it can be good to live in it for a while before making any changes. You learn how you use
the house, what works and what doesn’t. That’s what I did with the book. After teaching a few
courses with the first edition, and talking to many friends and colleagues about what they liked
and didn’t like about the first edition, it was time to start the reno.
Chapter 1, Other Minds, introduces those aspects of philosophy of mind used in the book,
and Chapter 2, Explaining Animal Behavior, introduces aspects of philosophy of science.
These two chapters (which have as their bones the first edition’s Chapter 1) are meant to give
students with little or no philosophical background a pithy introduction to the questions and
theories from the philosophy of mind and philosophy of science that we will be using in the
rest of the book. Chapter 3, The Science of Animal Minds, is slightly shortened and cleaned
up, with the methodological discussions of anthropomorphism cut out; that discussion now
appears in Chapter 2. Chapter 4, Consciousness, is thoroughly revised. I now present three
general approaches to answering the question of animal consciousness—through application
of a theory of consciousness, through an epistemic approach in the absence of a theory of
consciousness, and through a biological function approach. I critique the theory approach as
premature, and defend my version of the epistemic approach. Readers of the first edition may be
happy to hear that the original chapter on belief, concepts, and rationality has been significantly
revised. Chapter 5, Thinking, focuses on three topics: The vehicle of thought, the arguments
regarding animal belief, and the philosophy and science of animal rationality and logic. Chapter 6,
Communication, is substantially restructured. I also added a more robust discussion of the
neo-Gricean account of mindreading and the animal language research program. Chapter 7,
Social Cognition, was updated to reflect the flurry of research findings that have come to light